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Joel Bennett held a press conference moments ago on behalf of his client who alleged sexual harassment charges against Herman Cain, and it amounted to a big fat zero of any relevant information to this. The woman doesn’t want to reveal her identity or her side of the story. What’s interesting is that the NRA, according to their statement below, would have released her from the confidentiality portion of the agreement to allow her to vocalize her side of the story. But they still opted not to. So, end of story. Here is the NRA’s statement: “We have seen the...

She wants to, but … she can’t because of the confidentiality provisions in the settlement agreement. That puts Cain in a tough spot. Even though it’s up to the NRA, not him, to waive those provisions, the media will want to know if he thinks they should. If he says no, it looks like he has something to hide and that he’s afraid of what she might say. If he says yes, the NRA might very well issue the waiver and then this story is suddenly rolling along again. Obviously, if she wants to speak publicly, she thinks she has...

Bill Maher and controversial filmmaker Michael Moore defended singer Tony Bennett’s earlier comments this week that America “caused” the Sept. 11 attacks.

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Tony Bennett has again addressed his controversial remarks made to Howard Stern regarding 9/11 attacks on America. Bennett, 85, appeared on Howard Stern’s Sirius XM show on Monday night to promote his upcoming release “Duets II.” The conversation took a bizarre turn after Stern asked Bennett, a veteran of World War II, how the United States should deal with the terrorists who were responsible for destroying the World Trade Center. “They flew the plane in but we caused it,” Bennett said. “Because we were bombing them and they told us to stop.” He also asked Stern,...

American icon Tony Bennett took to the airwaves at Sirius Radio to promote his new album, “Duets II,” but it’s what he said about war, peace, terrorism, and who was to blame for the Sept. 11 terror attacks that could get people talking. Sitting down with Howard Stern on Monday, the 85-year-old singer dodged questions about his sex life and prior drug use. He did so with a laugh, but matters about the U.S. military and 9/11 were fair game, and on these topics the Grammy winner held little back... “I’m anti-war,” he said. “It’s the lowest form of human...

No one should ever accuse Utah's senior U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, in office 34 years, of not being a hard worker. But lately, Hatch seems to be expending much of his soon-to-be 77-year-old body and intellect toward a desperate effort to convince a small portion of Utah Republicans that he is Tea Party-approved. As a result, the distinguished-looking senator is beginning to look very unserious. He's reversed a longstanding tradition of being a conservative statesman with the political skills to work with Democrats to reach compromise. Common-sense positions Hatch once espoused on issues such as immigration and health care reform...

Former Utah Sen. Bob Bennett urged Republicans to nominate a presidential candidate with a "national view," and not focus on the ideological purity found in the early caucuses and primaries. "If you're going to nominate a national candidate, don't make the mistake of assuming that those who attend the early caucuses and early primaries speak for the nation as a whole," he said, speaking to Greta Van Susteren on Fox News on Friday. Bennett referred to 2010 midterm Senate races as a "cautionary tale" to Republicans whose candidates fail to attract moderate voters, in particular Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski's write-in...

...The moderate Republican had once been considered a rising star in the GOP and a likely 2012 contender, with David Plouffe, Barack Obama’s campaign mastermind, even identifying Huntsman as the only Republican who made him “a wee bit queasy” about the next race. But speculation ended abruptly in 2009 when Obama tapped Huntsman for the ambassadorship. National pundits called the appointment a shrewd move by the White House to sideline a potential rival, and then promptly forgot about him—which is probably why last fall’s Beehive State buzz was drowned out on the national stage by the noise of the midterms....

Speaking in reverential tones, Sen. Orrin Hatch went to the Senate floor Tuesday to mark the end of the 18-year career of his colleague from Utah, Sen. Bob Bennett. With Bennett sitting just a few feet behind him, Hatch gave a 10-minute address that included Bennett’s complete personal history, from his high school graduation to his first election to the Senate in 1992. Bennett, who lost his re-election campaign earlier this year, will leave office in early January. Hatch called Bennett “a fighter for the people of Utah” who helped secure money to modernize roads and bring commuter trains. “Every...

Sen. Michael Bennet has narrowly defeated tea party Republican Ken Buck to win a hard-fought Senate seat in Colorado. The victory for Bennet allows Democrats to hold onto a seat once viewed a prime opportunity for the GOP to make gains. Bennet provided a crucial firewall against further Republican gains in the Senate during midterm elections. The race attracted more out-of-state campaign money than any other Senate contest this year. In a victory speech, Bennet called it a "race for the record books."

88% reporting, Buck down 7000 votes. Looks like Hinsdale and Chafee counties aren't counted? Could use CO Freeper update..... Tancredo losing by double-digits now. Looks like CO is officially blue for good. Ken Buck was said to be the only GOP candidate who could lose this race, which would have been a GOP blowout with Norton on the ticket. Looks like that prediction was prophetic. Maybe he'll blame those stupid Tea Partiers and Sarah Palin and those retarded Birthers........again........ Unreal how back some of these candidates have proven to be, like Ken Buck.

For the first time, Republican challenger Ken Buck now captures more than 50% of the vote in his U.S. Senate bid against Democratic incumbent Michael Bennet in Colorado. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Colorado shows Buck with 51% support, while Bennet earns 43% of the vote with leaners included. Two percent (2%) prefer some other candidate, and four percent (4%) remain undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.) These findings move the race from a Toss-Up to Leans GOP in the Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 Senate Balance of Power rankings. Two weeks ago, Buck...

As the Senate last week moved to pass President Obama’s financial-regulation overhaul, word came that the Countrywide VIP loan scandal on Capitol Hill had just gotten a whole lot bigger. And that congressional ethics probers are looking into the dealings of eight House members — including New York Reps. Joseph Crowley and Christopher Lee — who raised significant sums of Wall Street money in the 10 days prior to voting on their version of the reform bill. Any wonder why voters are cynical? Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who has doggedly pursued the Countrywide scandal despite Democratic stonewalling, disclosed that Senate...

Washington • Sen. Bob Bennett said Thursday he was unaware that anyone on his staff got special home loans through CountryWide Finance Corp. as alleged in a congressional letter delivered to the Senate Ethics Committee. But the Utah Republican said he would cooperate fully with any ethics investigation that takes place. “I do not have a loan with CountryWide and I do not inquire as to where my staffers go to get their mortgages,” Bennett said in an interview with The Tribune. “I have full faith in the integrity of the staff and the matter is going to be in...

Warning that tea party "mischief" may be aiding Democrats this election season, defeated Utah Republican U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett says that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid likely will keep his seat and that the GOP may not win hotly contested Senate seats in Colorado or Kentucky either. Bennett, a three-term incumbent who lost his re-election chances when he failed to win his party nomination this year, made the comments in an interview with The Associated Press. The Utah senator said he fears tea party extremism could end up costing the GOP seats that they otherwise would have been able to...

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Warning that tea party "mischief" may be aiding Democrats this election season, defeated Utah Republican U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett says that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid likely will keep his seat and that the GOP may not win hotly contested Senate races in Colorado or Kentucky either. In an interview in his home state with The Associated Press, Bennett also suggested that Republicans may not have a clear plan to govern even if they do take control of the Senate this year.

Republican Sen. Bob Bennett – the first incumbent senator this cycle to fall victim to a primary challenge – says his party isn't doing a good job of advancing substantive ideas. "As I look out at the political landscape now, I find plenty of slogans on the Republican side, but not very many ideas," Bennett told The Ripon Society, a Republican think tank in Washington. "The concern I have is that ideology and a demand for absolute party purity endangers our ability to govern once we get into office," Bennett also said in his speech Wednesday. Facing significant anger aimed...

Utah Senate candidate Mike Lee (R) unveils his own big endorsements, Illinois adds a big spender to the Senate race and Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) won't be going to Colorado after all. I'll see your senator and raise you a congressman Lee was thought to be losing momentum in his bid for the Utah GOP Senate nomination after his rival, Tim Bridgewater, rolled out endorsements from Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) and fourth-place convention finisher Cherilyn Eagar (R). But Lee was able to fire back this week with endorsements from Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and the Tea Party Express, which helped...

Tea Party Express takes sides in Utah battlePosted: June 15th, 2010 08:23 AM ET From CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser Utah Senate hopeful Mike Lee was endorsed by the Tea Party Express on Tuesday. (CNN) – With one week to go until Utah's primary, one of the two Republican Senate candidates in the race is getting a major endorsement.The national Tea Party organization Tea Party Express Tuesday backed Mike Lee in the battle to succeed fellow Republican Bob Bennett.The move comes four days after Bennett endorsed Tim Bridgewater, the other candidate in the contest.Bridgewater and Lee finished first and...

WASHINGTON — Not long after news leaked last month that Andrew Romanoff was determined to make a Democratic primary run against Sen. Michael Bennet, Romanoff received an unexpected communication from one of the most powerful men in Washington. Jim Messina, President Barack Obama's deputy chief of staff and a storied fixer in the White House political shop, suggested a place for Romanoff might be found in the administration and offered specific suggestions, according to several sources who described the communication to The Denver Post. Romanoff turned down the overture, which included mention of a job at USAID, the foreign aid...

On paper, GOP Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama should have been a great target for a Tea Party challenge. He’s a notorious porker, has a lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union of 75 (lower than Utah Sen. Bob Bennett’s 83), and switched parties from the Democrats to Republicans, although it was back in 1994. Shelby did attract a Tea Party challenger in the GOP primary, Clint Moser. Yet Moser played Bambi to Shelby’s Godzilla,

I sent a letter to the OIP and Ombudsman this morning, requesting an investigation into whether the HDOH illegally destroyed permanent government records. I cc'ed Gov Lingle, Lt Gov Aiona, and AG Bennett. Because the letter contains a link I will post the entire letter in the first response to this post. A brief summary for those who are new to this issue: The retention schedule says that the original (hand-written) birth index was submitted for review in 1980 and it was determined that this record should be retained permanently. The schedule also says that the certificates themselves and the...

Jimmy Carter won the White House in 1976 by riding the wave of anger and disillusionment that followed Gerald Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon. Carter tapped into that anger with the slogan "I will never lie to you." An angry electorate, disgusted with Nixon, decided that was reason enough to give Carter the presidency. He won, in large part, because he made it clear that he wasn't Richard Nixon. Pundits called Carter a political genius. Four years later, however, he was a political pariah. Voters embraced Ronald Reagan because he wasn't Jimmy Carter, proving that good slogans do not necessarily...

Unless Sen. Bob Bennett's political fortunes change dramatically in the next two weeks, he could become Utah's first incumbent U.S. senator to lose his party's nomination in seven decades. A new Salt Lake Tribune poll of Republican delegates shows Bennett running in third, behind GOP challengers Mike Lee and Tim Bridgewater. Lee logged 37 percent support in the survey, while Bridgewater came in at 20 percent, and Bennett lagged at 16 percent. The survey of 400 Republican delegates, with a 4.4 percent margin of error, was conducted April 22-25 by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. of Washington, D.C. It comes...

Utah Sen. Robert Bennett announced Thursday he will not pursue a write-in campaign for reelection, ruling out the final option that might have allowed him to retain his seat after being denied his party's nomination at the state GOP convention earlier this month.

Sen. Bob Bennett, who failed to win nomination at the May 8 Republican convention, has called a press conference on Thursday at noon to "announce his plans for his political future," according to a release from his office.

Bob Bennett's defeat in last Saturday's Republican primary might be the beginning of a national trend. In the early 1990s, when incumbent members of Congress long thought to hold safe seats suddenly found themselves in political trouble over tax increases and the House bank, a Washington lobbyist friend lamented to me, "This is a tough year for the overdog." The same can be said, and perhaps with more emphasis, about election year 2010. Case in point: Bob Bennett of Utah. Mr. Bennett, who has served three terms in the Senate, was just denied a place on the primary ballot by...

One of the classic examples of the failure of politicians to communicate with the citizenry is found in a video of Romanian tyrant Nicolae Ceausescu, giving what turned out to be his last speech to the teeming masses gathered in a square in Bucharest. Oblivious to the mood of the people, Ceausescu is at his bombastic, self-important best until he realizes that the chants from the crowd below are not praise, but something rather to the contrary. The look on his face: priceless. You could say that Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, and Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.V., have just experienced their...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Heron Lake - and I must admit, I did not know there were lakes in New Mexico, but here's a guy that lives on one, Dave, great to have you on the program. Hi. CALLER: Good day. Yeah, I wanted to bring up the subject of Utah. They threw out Bennett in the primary. RUSH: Yeah. CALLER: Is this an ongoing thing that, say, Schumer, Waxman, or McCain better start thinking about. It's not a Democrat thing or Republican thing, the people are -- pardon the pun -- pissed. They're throwing all of these people that think...

Sen. Robert Bennett, an honorable and sincere politician, was brought down by the rank and file of the Utah Republican party over the weekend. Bennett, visibly shaken by his loss, seemed as stunned as anybody that he didn’t pass muster with his own party. He had good reason to be shocked. Bennett is reliably conservative with considerable seniority. He’s also one of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s right-hand men. In every way, he represented the establishment within the GOP. And, ultimately, that’s why he lost. His gravest sins, according to critics, were his longtime support for a health-insurance mandate and...

Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah), who lost his bid for re-nomination on Saturday, has not ruled out running as a write-in candidate for the Senate this fall. "I've made no decisions to make a decision," he said Tuesday when asked about his political future. “I’ve made a firm decision not to make any decisions at the moment.” Bennett would only say he'd make a decision "later." Such a decision would put his colleagues - who personally like Bennett but will only endorse a GOP candidate in the primary - in a tough position. "It's a little like going to your own...

Democrats and assorted commentators are professing to be alarmed about the defeat on the weekend of three-term Utah Republican Senator Bob Bennett at a GOP nominating convention. They say it signals the triumph of the tea party and other allegedly uncouth sorts, which is said to be bad for bipartisanship and other Beltway bromides.

TARP is, of course, the prime (but certainly not only) reason offered by Bennett’s opponents as to why he had to be torpedoed in Utah. The problem, as Dave Weigel notes: A lot of Republicans voted for TARP and not all of them are notorious RINOs. Why, here’s one now… RN: You’re not facing opposition in South Dakota. How have you finessed this issue — how do Republicans explain why they voted for TARP? [JOHN] THUNE: There was a tremendous, broad support in South Dakota among the small business community, the financial community, the South Dakota pension funds, the governor...

Over the weekend, a Utah GOP convention failed to nominate Sen. Bob Bennett in his third re-election bid to Congress. When a party rejects its own incumbent in a primary - and he's a mild-mannered Uncle Bob-type not involved in a sex scandal or facing criminal indictment - that's huge. On the one hand, it's healthy when voters demonstrate that no incumbent owns his or her seat. On the other hand, when party voters demand the kind of purity sought by Bennett's opponents, they risk triggering a stampede from the center. And woe be the lawmaker who works across the...

“This is a damn outrage,” a disgusted David Brooks, the faux conservative columnist for the New York Times, declared on Sunday’s Meet the Press reacting to Republican Senator Bob Bennett’s loss Saturday at Utah’s Republican convention which chose two others to compete in a June primary for the seat. Brooks fretted he was punished for being “a good conservative who was trying to get things done” by “bravely” working with Democrats on health care and supporting TARP. “Now,” he repeated, “he's losing his career over that. And it's just a damn outrage.” Sitting beside Brooks on NBC’s roundtable, liberal Washington...

Incumbent Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) was ousted Saturday from his state’s Republican primary by caucus voters fed up with big government spending, "stimulus," bailouts and the passage of Obamacare -- for starters. His ouster from the primary is proof GOP voters are not limiting their ire to Democrats. Bennett has been a big spender over his 18 years in the Senate, consistently voting to the left of his constituency. And from the red state of Utah that’s not a plan for lifetime Senate employment. When first elected back in 1992, Bennett pledged he would term-limit himself and serve no more...

There’s a lot of political ferment and discontent out there, a sense that the political universe may be reordering itself in unpredictable ways. And over the weekend, it claimed a prominent victim. From Politico: “SALT LAKE CITY — It’s on. The first incumbent of the 2010 election year crashed and burned Saturday, and there’s ample cause for alarm for officeholders everywhere. There was no personal scandal, no whiff of corruption, no silver bullet here. Republican Sen. Robert Bennett was one of the most powerful and likable members of the Senate, he diligently protected Utah’s interests from his post in GOP...

"I just received an email from Senator Jim Demint urging conservatives around the country to help send Mike Lee to the US Senate. I'm proud of the delegates in Utah for telling Sen. Robert Bennett to take a hike after 18 years. Plaudits to them. That’s the kind of conviction that people who claim to be patriots need to demonstrate (unlike McCain supporters). Next they should get rid of Orrin Hatch. Granted, he’s no Arlen Sphincter, Olympia Snowe or Susan Collins but he runs a..." (continued)

On Saturday, any number of national Republicans crapped their pants. In the middle of the afternoon, as word twitted and texted out of the Salt Palace that three-term senator Bob Bennett had been denied re-nomination, the world changed for the powers that be in the Republican Party. They got reminded who’s in charge. In a two-year effort that predates the tea parties and the Club for Growth, the conservatives of Utah sent the message that good enough isn’t good enough. Either walk the talk or make way for someone who will. It’s RINO season and we just got a big...

Republican officials sought to unify the party after Saturday's tea-party driven ouster of three-term Utah Republican Senator Robert Bennett. Mr. Bennett became the year's first victim of the anti-incumbent fervor sweeping through the Republican Party when he lost his bid for his party's nomination at a state GOP convention here. GOP activists blasted him as a Washington insider who had lost touch with Utah's conservative ideals and will instead nominate a tea party-backed populist candidate who promises adherence to conservative principles. The GOP candidate hasn't yet been chosen, but it will be one of Mr. Bennett's two challengers, businessman Tim...

‘Non-Violent Coup,’ Part of Larger Intolerant GOP Narrative “This is a damn outrage,” a disgusted David Brooks, the faux conservative columnist for the New York Times, declared on Sunday’s Meet the Press reacting to Republican Senator Bob Bennett’s loss Saturday at Utah’s Republican convention which chose two others to compete in a June primary for the seat. Brooks fretted he was punished for being “a good conservative who was trying to get things done” by “bravely” working with Democrats on health care and supporting TARP. “Now,” he repeated, “he's losing his career over that. And it's just a damn outrage.”

The end of Bob Bennett’s career in the Senate on Saturday by Republicans in Utah is about as good a place as any to give the Republican Party an agenda for Novembah. The people want change. Here are my proposals:

The Bennett lesson: All incumbents beware By: David Catanese May 9, 2010 07:28 AM EDT SALT LAKE CITY — It's on. The first incumbent of the 2010 election year crashed and burned Saturday, and there's ample cause for alarm for officeholders everywhere. There was no personal scandal, no whiff of corruption, no silver bullet here. Republican Sen. Robert Bennett was one of the most powerful and likable members of the Senate, he diligently protected Utah’s interests from his post in GOP leadership and he funneled millions of dollars back to his state as an appropriator. But Utah Republicans didn't care....

SALT LAKE CITY — Under the crystal chandeliers and molded ceilings of the Grand America hotel, an eclectic crowd mingled at the Sixth Annual Human Rights Campaign Gala. Drag queens in tall, yellow wigs wandered between state senators and congressmen and various members and supporters of the LGBT community . . . . *Snip* . . . . John Bennett, the political co-chairman of Utah Steering Committee for [the Human Rights Campaign] and nephew of U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett, rushed from the Republican Convention to the HRC Gala in the wake of the news that his uncle lost the Senate...

Tea Party Wins Victory In Utah As Incumbent GOP Senator Loses Bid For Nomination Amy Gardner May 9, 2010 The national "tea party" movement toppled its first incumbent Saturday as long-serving Sen. Robert F. Bennett was defeated at the Utah Republican Party's nominating convention, the most powerful demonstration yet of the anti-Washington tide that is altering the nation's political landscape. Bennett, seeking a fourth term after 18 years in office, became the first sitting senator to fall in the ideological battle being waged in his party. Although he has long been viewed as a reliable conservative with deep Mormon roots,...

Video from ksl.com Salt Lake City + a video report from fox13now.com

Senator Robert F. Bennett, an 18-year veteran Republican who had been seeking a fourth term this fall, was stripped of his party’s nomination on Saturday at the state convention, becoming one of the first Congressional victims of the surging ferment of discontent from the Tea Party-infused Republican right. Mr. Bennett, 76, was outmatched in delegate votes by two relative newcomers despite an enthusiastic endorsement and convention speech from Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and local Utah hero, and a political pedigree of deep Mormon roots and public service.

To watch the live feed from the Utah Republican Convention, go to the url above. Senate Candidates are giving their statements now.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Political careers are hanging in the balance the morning before the Utah state party conventions. Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, may not be getting as big of a boost as expected from Mitt Romney, who is scheduled to introduce him at Saturday's GOP convention at the Salt Palace. Sen. Bob Bennett Bennett hopes Romney will be the wild card that draws more delegates to his side. But a Dan Jones & Associates poll for KSL TV and the Deseret News shows Romney isn't as popular with delegates as he is with the general population. Seventy-six percent of...

Republican Utah Sen. Bob Bennett — who polls show to be the underdog against Tea Party-backed challengers — could become the state’s first incumbent senator to lose his party’s nomination since the 1940s at this weekend’s GOP convention. The convention may yield the first high-profile example of outing the insiders. “The anger is palpable,” Bennett said on CNN Thursday. “The anger’s very strong and that’s why I am in trouble. But if I meet with the delegates, if I spend time with them going through the facts, I find I can turn them around.” A recent poll of delegates shows...